Searching
by seanbee
Summary: Takes place after my previous story, "Strange Dreams." Please review!
1. Chapter 1

" _Well of course it's not really me. I'm just an image. I've been trapped here forever by XANA."_

Franz's words echoed in Jeremie's head. Was it really Franz Hopper who he had been talking to? Certainly Aelita thought so, but he knew that was only because she _wanted_ it to be true. There was no evidence to confirm that the strange dream he had was actually real; he only knew that it had not been XANA-induced. _How could I bring him back, if he's out there?_ Jeremie thought.

"Hello? Earth to the big fat cheesehead. Come in, big fat cheesehead."

"Huh?" Jeremie jerked up to find that Aelita was standing behind his desk chair.

"Whatcha thinking about, Jeremie?"

"Uh...you, silly," he said with a big grin on his face as he blushed. In a sense, it was actually true and not a total fib.

Aelita's heart melted. Those eyes, and that smile...they couldn't possibly belong to her. But they did. She was blessed to be able to spend eternity with him...

As flattered as she was, she comically chimed in with, "Well, you were thinking about me so much, you forgot that I asked you to take the trash out." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Oh, right," he said as he blushed more. She laughed as he left to complete his chores.

Lately, Aelita had noticed that he'd been spending more and more time on the computer. Deciding to investigate, she sat in his swivel chair. She noticed right away that he was remotely connected to the supercomputer, which was weird, but she was even more surprised to notice that the code he was working with was unfamiliar to her. He appeared to be searching for something on the network. But _what_?

Just then, she received a text from Jeremie.

GOING OUT, BRB

 _Well, at least it gives me more time to look at this code_ , she thought.

Jeremie had just closed the garbage can lid when it hit him.

"Ugh!" he said out loud. "I've been so busy, I forgot today is Odd's birthday!"

Sending a quick text to Aelita, he jumped into the car and started it up. He could call Odd, but he'd much rather see him in person.

Before long, a large storefront came into view. Large neon letters spelled out "KIWI'S MUSIC EMPORIUM" while a waving animatronic image of Kiwi flanked the letters' left.

Jeremie rushed out of the car and headed inside.


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome to Kiwi's Music Emporium! We got beats, vinyl, even musical instruments. We got it all - anything **you** could possibly need!" On the word you, Odd turned around and smiled and pointed, in his usual excited salesman manner. But he got even more excited when he saw who it was he was pointing at.

"Jeremie old buddy! I see you finally got out from behind that screen of yours!"

"It's good to see you too, Odd. I couldn't let my best friend's birthday pass without wishing him a happy one, could I? It's not every day a man turns 26."

"Well, when you put it that way. What's cookin', Einstein?"

"A nice roast turkey for dinner, if you want to close the shop early."

"All you have to do is say there's food, and you can bet Odd "Endless Stomach" Della Robbia will be there!"

Jeremie laughed.

"...or at least that's the usual case! Milly invited me for a homecooked meal of spaghetti and meatballs, plus a side of meatballs and gravy, and a six-scoop hot fudge chunky monkey sundae. I couldn't say no to that."

"Still seeing Milly, then? It certainly came out of left field, but I'm glad you're getting along now that you're older."

"Well, yeah, and actually, uh…" Odd appeared nervous, out of character for him.

"Something wrong, Odd?" Jeremie asked.

"Well, you see, uh... well, I might as well tell you. Tonight's the night." He giggled and

held up his hand with a big smile on his face. In it was a black velvet box. Jeremie knew its contents.

"Well, look at you!" he said with a 'go get em' attitude. "But are you sure she'll say yes? Isn't that the same ring you bought for Linda, and then for Sissi before that?"

"Yeah, hehe," he responded with a silly look on his face. "But there's no reason to waste a good ring after a few failed attempts. I know she'll say yes! She just can't resist the Della Robbia charm."

"That's the spirit, Odd."

"Well, guess I'd better get going," said Odd. "Don't want to be late for Milly's meal."

Odd might have seemed cool on the outside, but inside he was a nervous wreck. He had been rejected so many times it was beginning to feel like he was applying to university again. As he began the drive to Milly's, he wondered if today would be the day he finally became a soon-to-be-married man. He knew that they shared the same feelings for each other; this was certainly different from all of those other times.

He pulled into her driveway and opened the car door, a big smile on his face, and proceeded up the walk. _This is it_ , he thought.

"Knock, knock," he yelled as he rang the doorbell.

"It's about time," said Milly as she opened the door. Odd reached down and kissed her.

"Happy 26th Birthday, cutie."

"You're not so bad looking yourself."

Dinner seemed to drag on forever. Odd had decided to wait until afterward to pop the question. He may have been nervous, but he still ate like he had five stomachs. Soon, he had finished, and they both began to clean up the table.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take it," said Milly.

"No, I'll do it," Odd insisted, now nervous as ever.

"I got it," Milly insisted back.

"Okay, fine," said Odd, knowing that that would be the ultimate outcome.

As Milly put away the dishes, Odd readied himself in the other room. He made sure his hair was perfectly pointy, and that he didn't have any stains on his clothes. He threw on some sunglasses, and a retro outfit reminsicent of _Paco, the King of Disco_. Satisfied, he slid on his knees into the kitchen from the dining room and started singing.

"Mil-ly, oh Mil-ly. What did I do to deserve thee? You're just so lovely. I go crazy! Will you marry me?" _This is it,_ Odd nervously thought. _Oh no, why isn't she reacting? Not again!_

Milly dropped a plate, letting it shatter on the floor. No reaction. She instead stared into space blankly.

 _Well, this is odd,_ thought Odd. "Milly? Milly? Are you okay?" Still no reaction.

"I'm cheating on you with Tamiya!" he shouted. **Still** no reaction.

Suddenly, she turned to face him suddenly, and grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him off the ground.

"You know, a simple no would have sufficed!" he shouted.

"Listen!" she shouted in a deep voice that wasn't hers. "I...Franz Ho-...you...web...Jer-...secre-...sector 5…"

"Whoa!" Odd shouted, realizing what was happening. Just as quickly as it had started, it stopped, and Milly collapsed to the floor, shaking.


	3. Chapter 3

"She's going to be ok, right? Right?!" Odd was practically begging as he got down on his knees.

"Yes, Mr. Della Robbia. She will be fine. She just got a minor electric shock," said the doctor.

Jeremie and Aelita locked eyes. They had the same hunch…

"Oh thank goodness! My little Milly dear!"

"She is still unconscious, but you may see her now, Mr. Della Robbia."

"Oh thank you doctor! I could just _kiss_ you right now, you life saver!"

The three of them walked into Milly's room.

"Don't you think it's weird, Odd?" asked Jeremie.

"Look. I know what you're gonna say. But we killed XANA, twice. It's not him."

"Odd, when this happened...did she say anything?" asked Aelita.

"Uh, well, maybe," Odd replied. "But, I...uh...was a little distracted."

"It's ok, Odd, Jeremie told me that you were going to propose. You don't have to keep that a secret, though we will keep it from Milly." She winked.

"Wait! The camera!" Odd shouted as he leaped up and ran towards Jeremie. "Einstein! I was filming it with a secret camera in the kitchen! I should have the whole thing on tape! We have to get home right away!"

"What do you think it means?" asked Aelita, reviewing the footage.

" _I...Franz Ho-...you...web...Jer-...secre-...sector 5…"_

"It means that something could be up with the supercomputer. We should check it out," said Jeremie.

"XANA?"

"No, he's long gone."

"Then what?"

"Don't know," Jeremie said sternly with a quizzical look on his face.

"Awesome! Road Trip! I'll call Ulrich," Odd interjected.

 _Gotta Break Awayyyyy. Lies like that and I gotta break away. Break Awayyyyayyyyayyayyy. Here and now, today._

Ulrich's mobile rang, but it was a bit too noisy to hear it. After all, it was opening night…

It had started as a joke. A quick lie, to appease his father. But after helping his son invest, Mr. Stern wanted to see the finished product, so after thinking it over, Yumi and Ulrich decided to give it a try. Not wanting to use Ulrich's name of their "Japanese Kitchen," and perhaps wanting to serve more than just Japanese food, Yumi had thought of a better one.

Odd and the Belpois family drove up. Greeting them was the large sign, reading THE SKIDBLADNIR. Of course, only the Lyoko Warriors understood the reference. Below the curved arc of letters was an image of the skidbladnir, piloted by none other than Franz Hopper, a tribute to the restaurant's location.

Parking in the restaurant's lot across the way, the team walked across the bridge that they had so often walked upon in their youth. The layout of the former warehouse had changed, though the construction was no financial burden for Mr. Stern. The old entrance to the factory now led to the top floor bar, while a grand staircase took visitors downstairs to the main eating area. Carefully concealed behind the large cashier's area on the first floor was a small locked door with a Do Not Enter sign hanging on it. They all knew where it led to.

"Jeremie! Odd! Aelita! What a pleasant surprise!" said Yumi, the cashier. Ulrich was likely in the back doing so food preparation.

"We're here to see the electronics."

"Oh, yes...right this way," she said surprisingly. "Is everything...okay?"

"We'll explain later," said Jeremie as he entered the code into the door's keypad.

O

The door clicked open...


End file.
